The present invention relates to a movable constructional unit, capable of being built into a vehicle body, for the region of the scuttle and of the cockpit of a passenger car, particularly of a small two-seater.
Known constructional units having a comparable function, as shown in German Patent No. 3,315,646, are assembled from a multiplicity of individual components, thus making the process for producing the constructional units more expensive.
DE 4,105,679 A1 shows a preassembled constructional unit for the scuttle region of motor vehicles. However, this unit contains only suggests a decentralized or off-line mounting of relatively large ranges of components. No description is provided as to how the supporting structure of the scuttle region could be produced cost-effectively and nevertheless in a functionally suitable manner in every meaningful respect.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved constructional unit in which its weight is reduced, comparable load-bearing capacity and functioning are preserved, and that its production becomes less expensive.
This object has been achieved according to the present invention by providing that the constructional unit comprises two composite parts each of which consists of deep-drawn sheet metal and of plastic injection-molded thereon, one composite part forming a scuttle as the front end wall of a passenger space and the other composite part forming the dashboard carrier. Further, the sheet-metal component of each composite part being configured to transmit without failure operating loads within the composite part and at connection points with the body, and, at least one of bores perforations and set-out tongues being provided at specific locations on the sheet metal components, to serve as positive anchoring points for the injection-molded on plastic, and the injection-molded on plastic being configured to form a ribbing stiffening the sheet-metal parts and receptacles of predetermined shape for various add-on parts.
Accordingly, the scuttle of the present invention is formed as an integral composite constructional part from drawn sheet metal and plastic injection-molded thereon. In this construction, a large-area sheet-metal pressing shaped with relatively little filigree and having a reinforcement, integrated in the sheet metal, for the portions subjected to higher load, (for example the pedal receptacle and the steering-column mounting), is introduced into an injection-molding die and has a thermoplastic injected thereround. Filigree structures of the composite constructional part can thereby be made quickly, in a simple and standard operation and, therefore, cost-effectively for reinforcements or receptacles intended for add-on parts. Although the injection-molding outsert technique employed here is known per se, it nevertheless has surprising, previously unrecognized advantages in the present use.